Virtual VCSE Funding Fair 2021
This year the VCSE Funding Fair is a virtual event and all Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations based in the city are invited to come along and speak to local and national funders who are actively investing in community groups in your area.
Tuesday 23 March 2021
AM Session: 10:00am – 12:30pm
PM Session: 1.30pm – 4.00pm
The Funding Fair will give you the opportunity to:
- Float your ideas past potential funders
- Learn about current funding programmes
- Find out how VAL can help you to succeed in your future bids
This event is open to VCSE organisations based in Leicester city only.
Only 2 people per VCSE organisation will be allowed to book on.
You have the choice of booking onto either the morning or afternoon session, please do not book onto both. (Details of how to book onto a session are below)
Funding Fair 2020 Timetable
| AM Session | |
|---|---|
| 9:45am | Attendees log in |
| 10:00am | Introduction from VAL |
| 12:30pm | Lunch break |
| PM Session | |
|---|---|
| 1:15pm | Attendees log in |
| 1:30pm | Introduction from VAL |
| 4:00pm | Close |
Funders
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Charity Bank: A bank for the social sector
Speaker: Lee Jagger, Regional Manager
Charity Bank is the loans and savings bank owned by and committed to supporting the social sector.
Since 2002, Charity Bank has made more than 1,000 loans totalling over £300m to housing, education, social care, community and other social purpose organisations.
Charity Bank aims to use its expertise, commitment and flexible approach to lending, to help charities and social enterprises get the support and funding they need.
With Charity Bank, savings can become a powerful force for good: as Charity Bank only lends its savers’ money to charities and social enterprises.
Find out more at www.charitybank.org
To apply for a loan or a savings account, or to discuss your funding need, contact Charity Bank on 01732 441919.
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Charity Link
Speaker: Katie Scranage, Trust Administrator
Small Grants Scheme
This scheme offers grants of up to £500 for projects benefiting people in need in Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland or Northamptonshire. Applications are accepted throughout the year from registered charities or organisations with charitable objectives. You can apply for project costs or operational/running costs.
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National Lottery - Heritage Fund
Speaker: Mark Humphries, Engagement Manager
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK.
They believe that understanding, valuing and sharing our heritage brings people together, inspires pride in communities and boosts investment in local economies.
- They distribute National Lottery grants from £3,000 to £5million, funding projects that sustain and transform the UK’s heritage.
- We provide leadership and support across the heritage sector, and advocate for the value of heritage.
- Strategic Funding Framework for 2019–2024 – YouTube
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The Key Fund
Speaker: Rachel Veitch-Straw, Investment Manager
Key Fund offer blended finance for social enterprises or trading charities in the form of loans with grants.
Funds can be offered to support development, building projects, new phases of activity, to bridge a gap, solve a problem, or support new trading or delivery – and yes, we can support new starts! (Please note we can only support incorporated organisations or those planning to incorporate in the near future)
Application is simple and the assessment process is relationship-driven. Have a chat and find out whether we might be able to help your organisation!
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Leicestershire & Rutland Community Foundation
Speaker: Louise Cotton, Grants Officer & Nell Haswell Hammond – Grants and Funds Co-ordinator
The Community Foundation works to encourage local philanthropy. We set up and manage grant giving charitable funds for families, individuals and companies. We also manage local and national grant programmes such as National emergency Trust, Department for Media Culture and Sport (DCMS) Tampon Tax, #iWill; Wesleyan Foundation; St Matthews Big Local. We have various grant programmes that open at various times of the year. These include matching family and corporate funds to causes they are interested in supporting, and giving grants on behalf of larger national agencies. So keep an eye on our website page ‘Apply for Funds’. If you would like to be on our funding circulation list please email grants@llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk to receive emails when new grant programmes are open for applications.
Funds we will be promoting are:
Coronavirus Support Fund
Grant size: Up to £5k
Who for: Charitable groups delivering in Leicestershire
Fund Criteria: For charitable and community organisations supporting local people who are struggling as a result of the pandemic.
Making Local Life better
Grant Size: Up to £3k
Who For: For all charitable groups working within Leicestershire and Rutland
Fund Criteria: A broad fund that will accept application for a variety of projects.
This has 2 Strands:
- Projects – for here and now – will sit at quarterly panel.
- Core Funds – rolling will stay on our books for 12 months for us to match to private donors as and when they choose to fund !
Mercia Park Community Fund
(CURRENTLY CLOSED RE-OPENING FOR APPLICATIONS IN APRIL 2021)
Grant size up to £5K
Who for Charitable groups delivering in North West Leicestershire
Fund Criteria: Help strengthen local communities (particularly their quality of life and life chances) within proximity of the Mercia Park Development at Junction 11 M42.
Improve the natural environment within proximity of the Mercia Park Development at Junction 11 M42.
Wesleyan Foundation Funds
(CURRENTLY CLOSED – OPENING SOON)
Grant sizes: Small up to £2k / Large up to £10k
Who For: Charitable groups with an income less than £250k (Small) / £500k (Large)
Fund criteria:
- Education – projects that address positive social mobility, disadvantage and raising aspirations. Initiatives that develop individuals’ skills and employability are also of high importance.
- Health – projects that address mental and physical wellbeing and create opportunities for inclusion.
- Social – Wesleyan wish to champion projects that develop conscious inclusion so will prioritise projects that bring the community together.
St Matthews Big Local
Grant Size: up to £1,000 are available
Who For: Available to individuals and not for profit groups working with beneficiaries from the St Matthews Estate, Leicester.
Fund Criteria: For projects that; focus on making St. Matthew’s ‘cleaner and greener’, increase feelings of safety and security, celebrate diversity, talent and creativity, and increase community cohesion
SEGRO
(CLOSED – OPENING SOON)
Grant Size: Up to £20k
Who For: Charitable groups delivering in North West Leicestershire within proximity to East Midlands Airport
Fund Criteria: Employability focused projects
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Leicestershire Funding Toolkit – Idox
Speaker: Matthew Godfrey – Account Manager Idox Funding and Information Services
We have been supporting Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) and its communities for a number of years. We are Europe’s leading and most advanced funding database, helping local communities and the voluntary sector identify external funding opportunities across the UK and Europe. Millions of pounds of funding continue to be identified and secured through the ongoing use of our funding and information services.
The Leicestershire Funding Toolkit provides you with free access to our online database of funding opportunities.
Contact Matthew.godfrey@idoxgroup.com to find out more information on how to register and carry out searches of local and national funders. Start your search today: http://tinyurl.com/funding-toolkit
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Lloyds Bank Foundation (Morning session only)
Speaker: Gary Beharrell, Manager, East Midlands
The Lloyds Bank Foundation supports registered charities with an annual income of £25,000 to £1 million with a proven track record of helping people on a journey of positive change through in-depth, holistic and person-centred support with funding and tailored support to help organisations develop.
We work in a number of complex areas and these are listed on the website, please check these prior to booking an appointment.
More information can be found at: www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk
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The National Lottery Community Fund - Reaching Communities
Speaker: Dave Nicklin, Funding Officer – Midlands Hub
Application deadline: Ongoing
Flexible funding over £10,000 for up to five years to organisations in England who want to take action on the issues that matter to people and communities.
Reaching Communities make grants of over £10,000 in England, supporting organisations with great ideas that enable communities to thrive.
This programme offers a larger amount of funding for organisations that work with their community to help them thrive. We fund projects that work to make positive changes in their community – whether that is for people living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.
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Severn Trent Community Fund - (Morning session only)
Speaker: Sue Heyes, Community Fund Officer
Our customers, and the communities we live and work in, are at the heart of everything we do. And that’s why, from 2020, we’re going to be giving away more than £10million over the next five years to support new projects by local charities and community groups in the Severn Trent region – helping to make a real and tangible difference in our communities.
Our customers have helped us to create and shape our new community fund. We’ve spoken to lots of you to better understand your community needs, and as a result, have chosen to design our fund around improving community wellbeing.
By this we mean:
- People: Projects that help people to lead a healthier life and gain new skills
- Places: Projects that help to create better places to live in and use
- Environment: Projects that will help look after our natural environment, give people greater access to that environment or help look after water
We seek to fund projects that link to these key elements of community wellbeing – with favourability shown to projects that ideally lie within a ‘sweet spot’ that incorporates all three. If you’re applying for over £75,000, please note that a combination of all three of these themes is necessary to be eligible.
And of course, being a water company, naturally we’d love to see applications for projects that have a connection to water too (although not essential)! This might mean creating sustainable drainage, installing grey water recycling or creating water efficient green spaces.
Grants available from £2,000 to £200,000 – full details at www.stwater.co.uk/about-us/severn-trent-community-fund/
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Spacehive - Crowdfund Leicester - City Mayor's Community Engagement Fund
Speaker: Frank Kibble – Partnership Manager at Spacehive (crowdfunding platform)
Crowdfund Leicester – City Mayor’s Community Engagement Fund
Deadline: 31 May 2021
The Mayor can help fund activities, initiatives and projects that can make a real difference to the quality of life for some of our communities in Leicester, particularly underserved communities that are usually considered “hard to reach” or “difficult to engage”.
The projects should help eliminate discrimination, victimisation and harassment, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between communities and groups. Groups must run a crowdfunding campaign on the Spacehive crowdfunding platform, can receive up to £10,000 towards their campaign with pledges depending on the support of the community, the target of the project and how closely the project supports the above aims of the fund.
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VAL - Sector Support
Our Sector Support team offers free, confidential advice and support on all aspects of setting up
and running your organisation.We provide high quality training to broaden your skills and knowledge you need to manage your charity, social enterprise or community group.
We can help you, with preparing reading and writing funding and tender applications.
Visit us online at:valonline.org.uk/sector-support/
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VAL - Volunteering
Volunteers are an integral part of the success of local voluntary and community sector organisations.
If you would like to find out how to involve the volunteers your organisation needs to thrive, our volunteering team is here to support you.
Our volunteering team can: post volunteering opportunities on your behalf so you can find the volunteers you need and help you develop relevant volunteering policies & advise on all aspects of managing volunteers.
Book your place
You can book onto our 2021 Funding Fair via Eventbrite. Places are limited, so book yours today.
Book now